Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-04-17
lYRAIP.
IIe, 8 ths rimes- Democrat. /

- = AA4A4A
~ u ths Times- Democrat
I'M OLD MAN.
- fnown better days, notwith-
~ appearance of misery and
= 1'S - of fifteen he had had bot
I1i< ~I5iked ~ vehicle passing on
l. ~ hiahWay. Since that time
rod along the roads from one
q "a another, balancing himself
|Is 6ru,ehsu, the constant use OF
~ pushed up his shoulders to
<rl1k ~ saxs. His head seemed as
~ totwoon two hills.
1al q ditch by the parish priest
15a6so a. NE eve Of All Saints, and
~ 166.on chfistened with the name
211oe Toussaint; brought up by
"a without . particle of educa.
1od Tor life after having been
~ - >nke few drinks Of brandy
. q 1 iokei by the village baker;
oSer aiace that time tramp,-the
Akina BE knew in the world was
& Is ho0 ont his hand.
n o,her ysars the Baroness d'Avary
3 q Allow him to sleep in q sort OF
3&Si full OF straw. close to the hen.
4 tho farm attached to the
4 ond. when desperately hungry,
111 c1Ways sure Of being able to get
- 4 besad and glass of cider in
11kahm. Sometimes he used also to
y m ooppsrs thrown down to him
{ko IA lady from the top of her ter
= -. o. from the windows Of her
- Now she wss dead.
~ village theys would give him
nS61v nnSthing; he was too well
Sirn; oeopIe had become tired Of the
- Y him; they had seen him for
81 lnoe years going from farmhouse
sEDko1se, pulling his ragged and
~ body along with the aid Of
~ wooden legs. Still. he did not
61 Is 70 away, because all Of the
31 ~ knew anything about was that
r6loh a country, with its three or
~ vlIlnGeA through which he had
~ 1rnes{na his miserable existence.
"a IA down frontier line for his
n1sEy. ona he could never have gone
~ u limits which he had never
cto.o1 himself to cross.
d IS 6ld not know whether the world
III very far beyond the line Of
~ whioh had always been the bound.
- u III vision, He did not even ask
o6lf whether il did or did not. And
I - fhe peasants, weary Of seeing him
navs hobbling along their fields or sit
: - down beside their bitches, they
Sl1 skout out to him: "Why dent
- Is % the other villages, instead Of
U55s crutching about here!" he would
~ rake : reply, but simply take
Il1 - fall Of vague fear of the
1knoxn--the fear of 3 poor creature
~ 1reods : thousand different things
4 ~ Of confused way, faces,
Soa tie suspiciouse observation OF
~ Who did mot know him, and the
lafms Who walked the road two
i No. and tho very sight of whom
- him instinctively sink behind
61kes or stone heaps.
Wksnever be saw them coming in the
tnnoe, alittering in their uniforms un
{ oR Tie sunlight, he would suddenly
veAop IN extraordinary agility-ths
11fiy Of : monster, lin seeking {
~ place. He would tumble dowr
- bis crutches es-lstting himself fal
3 ~ Ike rag; and then he would roll
naelf eli up into hall, become quit
|n11aA beooms invisible, lie fat like I
& ~ 4 t. lair, 20 e. to make his brown
i ~ seem part Of the ground that the!
~ Il color.
Notwithstanding. he had never ha'
~ 1Roahle With them in his life. Blu
- lid the instructive fear of them i
Md. = thouRh he had inherited th
nr I'D summing Of these parents whor
IS Nd noser known.
He had no refuge, no roof, no hut, n
S11ey. He slept anywhere in summer
M II Wintsr he slipped under barns o
: y olWnys got away in the morning be
- ~ one had suspected his presence
3 o knsw al the holes through which h'
1oo11 ast into the farm buildings; ant
- ~ constant use of crutches haG
zfgen him extraordinary power in hi
NM, hs VS. uble to climb hand oyel
kand into the haylofts, where he would
1lton nmain three or four days at I
- without moving especially whel
- had besn able to collect some pro
u1oas upon his rounds.
4 HS lived ike the beasts In the fields
noog men, without knowing any body
without loving anybody; the feeling to
npd him among the peasants wa
6ply one Of indifferent contempt ant
SiGned hostility. They had nick
I'D him 'sCloche" (the bell), becaus,
) swung along between his crutche
~ bell between its supports.
Hor two whole days he had eaten moth
1G at all. Nobody would give him &
& more. People had finally got tiret
i him. Tho peasant.women, at theil
looFa would scream out to him from q
1Gtnncs when they saw him coming:
Get away from here, you old clod-
rpsFl Didn't I give you piece ol
"A only three days ago?"
Than be would pivot around upon his
utch0 and take himself to the neigh.
sine house, only to be there received
- Uko manner.
ytom door to door the women cried
i1s ss0ne can't undertake to feed that
ksf H. year round, anyhow
4 xo1ogtholess, the losfer had to ge,
<ouad thing 70 eat every day.
4 ~ IA gone aIl through Saint Hilaire
nx1 n and La Billettes without:b ing
~ p get one copper or one hard crus
kread. There was no hope for him
'ddeQuently except at Tournolles; bu
= ked 30 travel two leagues on the pnb
r hiehvsy to get there; and he fell
ooody % weak that he could hardly
~ hlmsslf along. having his stomach
enpty q his pocket.
Nevertheless he started.
= u was December; cold wind playet
t56F the fields, and whistled througl
~ naked branches; while the cloud
uF5s rushing through low-hanging
~ sky, y If hurrying God know